•    Apologies were received and approved for Cllr J Clark, Cllr J Penn & Unitary Cllr J Davies.

•    None.

None.

•    The minutes of the meeting held on 15th November 2021 were approved unanimously and signed as a true record. 

•    The Clerk outlined the process for co-opting a new councillor in an election year.  It was agreed not to ask Wiltshire Council for permission to co-opt unless the Council receives an expression of interest in becomimg a councillor.
•    Dog Bin at West Manton – following a site visit with the Clerk, Cllr Simon Mills and the owner of the field a dog bin has now been provided at this location.  The Clerk has already received favourable comments about the bin from local residents.
•    Website – progress has been slow to date but the Clerk hopes to have more time to work on this now the Christmas holidays are over.  Cllr P Morgan advised the current live website is due for renewal in July. Therefore the new website needs to be live by the end of June.

None.

•    Preshute 22 – signage warning users about the proximity of the road are now in place.  No more safety measures are expected to be implemented at this location.
•    Signage – Cllr S Mills is still in the process of assessing the status of the footpath and signage.

•    The West of Marlborough Traffic Group met at Avebury Manor with Danny Kruger MP and other agencies to discuss the wider issue of traffic on the A4 and to push for the 50mph to be extended to cover the entire length between Beckhampton and Marlborough.  Wiltshire Council made no commitment to this proposal.  Discussions took place about the closing of the Ridgeway to four wheel drive vehicles, preliminary discussions were encouraging.
•    Frees Avenue – Preshute had requested the proposals to reduce traffic speeds to be extended further from the Marlborough boundary into the Preshute stretch but this has not been forthcoming.  It was suggested a combined approach with Ogbourne St Andrew to include the Rockley may have more impact.
•    Flood prevention at Clatford – water still continues to pool outside the bus shelter and on the road to the A4 during heavy rainfall causing dangerous driving conditions.  The problem appears to come from run off from West Woods.  The grips are not designed to cope with this amount of rainfall and regularly become blocked.  The solution to aleviate the flooding appears to be to dig a ditch to take the water to the river.  Martin Cook from Wiltshire Council looked at the area about 5 years ago but no action was taken at this time.  The Clerk agreed to write to him and see what can be done.  Action Clerk

•    Nothing to report apart from the flooding at Clatford Crossroads.

•    Cllr S Mills provided a verbal update on the 11th January meeting.  He highlighted the report given by the new Police and Crime Commissioner who is looking at increasing the numbers of police in the community and collaborating with Community Speed-watch to identify areas with speeding problems and work with them to prosecute offenders.
•    The next meeting is on 22nd March at the Marlborough Town Hall.  Cllr John Clark to be asked if he can attend.

The Council adopted the following new policies:
•    Lone Workers
•    Health & Safety
•    Procedure for Co-option
•    Prospective councillor application form
Cllr S Mills proposed, Cllr H Wroth seconded.

The accounts for the year to January 2022:

Balance carried forward from last year:            £12393.50
Total receipts for the year to January 2022:            £4210.31
Total payments for the year to January 2022:            £5748.62
The available (cash book) balance on 17 Jan 2022:        £10855.19

The Council approved payments of outstanding cheques:

200032    S Roberts – Salary Dec-Jan 2022        
200033    S Roberts – NP Admin Nov-Dec 2021    
200034    S Roberts – expenses Dec– Jan 2022     
200035    Idverde- new bin at West Manton        £220.14
200036    Friends of the Ridgeway subscription        £15.00
200037    NetWiseUK – Annual host & support    £360.00

•    BACS – Cllr P Morgan and Cllr I Wroth have authority from Barclays to authorise BACS payments & Cllr S Mills is awaiting further paperwork from Barclays.
•    Donations requests were considered and agreed for Marlborough Area Poverty Action Group and the Marlborough Link for £100 each.
Cllr P Morgan proposed, Cllr S Mills seconded.  
•    It was noted the Council had previously agreed a donation to Preshute Primary School for the upgrade to their play facilities, the exact amount will be determined at the end of the financial year.

•    The Clerk advised that both of the outstanding applications have yet to be determined.
•    Fyfield Down – the new interpretation display boards due to be provided in September have still not materialised and there was some suggestion that part of the land may be about to change ownership.

•    Cllr P Morgan provided an update on the status of the Plan which is now ready to go to the Regulation 14 Consultation in early February.  All councillors had been provided with the minutes of the last NPWG meeting, the latest version of the Draft Neighbourhood Plan and Regulation 14 leaflet ahead of the meeting for consideration.
•    The Parish Council approved the pre-submission Draft Preshute Neighbourhood Plan and Draft Regulation 14 leaflet.
Cllr S Mills proposed, Cllr H Wroth seconded.

•    The Working Group have not met.
•    The owner of the field at West Manton has expressed an interest in some planting of trees or hedges.  The council agreed hedging may not be suitable and Cllr S Mills agreed to discuss further with the owner about trees.  Action Cllr S Mills.
•    A single tree planting with a plaque to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee was proposed.  Two possible locations were discussed.  Cllr S Mills and Cllr I Wroth agreed to explore the options and speak to the landowners.  Action Cllr S Mills & Cllr I Wroth.

•    Covid Copse
•    Website
•    Neighbourhood Plan
•    Donations
•    Signage and Stiles
•    Parish Council newsletter
•    Platinum Jubilee Tree Planting